SE Alaska’s Western Passages – Juneau to Sitka

An 8-day/7-night expedition from Juneau to Sitka. We begin with a transit up a narrow channel to a tidewater glacier and a kayak into a waterfall-lined fjord. Visiting the villages of Angoon and Tenakee Springs, we will meet with locals and learn about their lives. Along the way we will watch for foraging brown bears and feeding humpback whales.

“Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own.” –Charles Dickens

Explore Southeast Alaska’s Westerns Passages – Juneau to Sitka

This itinerary is dependent on the weather and the tides and may change at the captain’s discretion

Day 1: Westward will be moored in downtown Juneau in the vicinity of the Mount Roberts Tram base station. Departing at 1230, we will head south down Gastineau Channel and enter Stephens Passage. Reaching Holkham Bay at around 1800, we enter the glacial fjord of Endicott Arm, where we will find an anchorage in time for a quiet first night aboard. We often find humpback whales feeding in the area around the entrance to Endicott Arm, and we have seen both bears and wolves along the shores at our night’s anchorage.

Day 2: Underway at dawn, we travel east up the narrowing canyon, carved by Dawes Glacier. As we approach the glacier’s face, we will slow so we can safely wind between ice bergs and also avoid disturbing harbor seals hauled out onto the floating ice to mate, give birth and molt. After spending a few hours watching as Dawes Glacier calves sometimes huge pieces of itself into the inlet, we turn, work our way through the ice and travel west toward the narrow side fjord of Ford’s Terror. John Muir, exploring in the area in the late 1800s, described this inlet as “an ocean-flooded Yosemite Valley”. Here we will navigate to a small cove at the outer end of a narrows. The fjord extends about 4 miles past these narrows, and the rising and falling tides create strong currents in the confined channel. Waiting until the exact right moment, we will kayak through the narrows and then along the steep-sided canyon walls and among the feet of the hundred small waterfalls that fall from cliff-tops lost in the mists above us.

Day 3: Today we exit Endicott Arm and continue south in Stephens Passage, crossing from the mainland side over to the eastern shore of Admiralty Island. We are now entering waters frequented by humpback whales and orca. Here, we will be on the lookout for their tell-tale blows. Finding our night’s anchorage among the small bays and inlets that indent Admiralty Island, we will launch our kayaks and search for brown bears foraging along the shore.

Day 4: Underway before breakfast, we round the southern tip of Admiralty Island and enter Chatham Strait, crossing Chatham toward Baranof Island and on to Warm Springs Bay. Anchored for a few hours, we hike the trail up to the lake that feeds the magnificent waterfall that drops into the head of the bay. On our way back from the lake, we can stop and soak in the natural hot pools overlooking the head of the falls. After taking our fill of the restorative waters, we return to Westward and resume our journey. Continuing north along the Baranof shore, we visit a fish hatchery and see how they are working to enhance runs of returning salmon. Brown bears are also interested in this process, and gather during the salmon returns to consume some of the results of the hatchery worker’s labors.

Day 5: Underway early so we can fit in a full day’s activities, we sail to the Tlingit village of Angoon. Once ashore, we will meet a village elder, who will guide us on a walk through the settlement. Along the way he will share the stories of his clan, and give us an opportunity to hear Tlingit spoken. One of the world’s few remaining languages that evolved in the place where it is spoken, its tones are imbued with the sounds of the forest, the sea, and the voice of the raven. We will spend about 3 hours ashore in Angoon before re-boarding Westward and continuing north to Freshwater Bay. Anchoring in a small cove, we will again scan the shore for foraging brown bears. Either this afternoon or in the morning, we will go ashore and walk along paths created by brown bears gathered here during the salmon runs to feast on returning fish. We will also use the skiff as a camera platform to photograph these apex predators as they feed, storing up the calories that they need to survive through the lean winter ahead.

Day 6: After a pre-breakfast scan for bears on the shores, we will raise anchor and make the short run to the village of Tenakee Springs, a unique community of homesteaders and vacation home owners drawn to this remote area by its mineral hot springs. Typically, we arrive during ladies’ bathing hours, and our female guests and crew often take a few minutes to slip into the very hot water. Re-gathering at the general store or bakery, we will soon return too Westward, hoist anchor and get underway for our evening’s destination; a sheltered bay near the outflow of a mountain lake. Once securely anchored, we go ashore and walk the 3-mile round trip trail to the lake.

Day 7: Today we transit several narrow channels as we navigate Peril Strait, Sergius Narrows, Neva Strait and Whitestone Pass. These narrow, current-filled passages are as photogenic as they are challenging to navigate. We often encounter tugs, Alaska State Ferries and fishing boats as we travel along this important ocean highway, so a sharp lookout is required. Anchoring in time for our final kayak paddle of the trip, we will explore the shores of a cove that is enriched by the surge of the nearby open ocean. Returning to Westward for dinner and viewing a photo recap of our shared voyage in Westward’s fireplace-warmed salon, rounds out the day..

Day 8: It is only a couple of hours travel into Sitka, but we will still start right after breakfast so that there is plenty of time for a naturalist-guided sampling of the town’s many historic sites.

Crew Members

Name :
Bill Bailey

Position : CAPTAIN / OWNER

Bill has spent most of his life on the water. After growing up as a surfer in Southern California he moved to the Pacific Northwest where he worked as a commercial fisher in Washington and Alaska, used boats to transport materials and crews to construction sites on remote islands, and cruised extensively with his family. He has a soft place in his mind for older wooden boats, and over the years has acquired the skills required to keep them thriving. [More]

Carlos was born and raised in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico, where he also went to university. Though he majored in international business, his passion is the sea. [More]

Name :
Caroline Olson

Position : NATURALIST, DECKHAND, KAYAK GUIDE

Caroline was raised in North Dakota, a mere 150 miles from the geographic center of North America. There one cannot be farther from the sea. [More]

Name :
Shane Blair

Position : ENGINEER

Shane grew up on a horse farm in Boulder County, Colorado, with a love for the land and the lifestyle, and developed a passion for early era tractors. [More]

Name :
Randy Good

Position : ENGINEER, SHIP'S CARPENTER

Randy’s fascination with boats began early, while spending time with his dad on the Chesapeake Bay and his gift for innovative construction began with tinkering at his grandfather’s workbench while growing up in Virginia. [More]

Sarah Drummond’s passion for the natural world began at an early age, and she has kept illustrated field journals since she was twelve. Sarah graduated from Maine’s College of the Atlantic, where her studies emphasized general ecology, island ecosystems, and art; and earned her M. A. in environmental studies from Prescott College, Arizona. [More]

Name :
Bernadette Castner

Position : CAPTAIN

Bernadette grew up in the Pacific Northwest and was never too far away from the water. Family summers were spent camping on the coast, or exploring the Puget Sound in the family’s 16ft skiff, fishing and discovering remote islands. [More]

Name :
Michael Neswald

Position : CHEF

Michael began his cooking career at the age of fifteen, busing tables and washing dishes at a historic steakhouse in Canyon Country, California, where he grew up. Since moving to Oregon in 2011, he immediately fell in love with the Pacific Northwest - its wild native ingredients, local farms and beautiful vineyards.

Name :
Paul Brown

Position : CAPTAIN

Paul moved to Seward, Alaska and began working on boats at the impressionable age of nineteen. A flurry of ambition awarded him with his first captain's license two-years later, and he spent the next few years working on the northern Gulf of Alaska. [More]